Why are two Premier League games kicking off at 7pm this Sunday?

The Premier League has scheduled matches with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur for 19:00 GMT (14:00 ET) this Sunday after both clubs played in Europe on Thursday night.

Tottenham traveled from London to Glasgow to play Rangers in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night. They drew 1-1, leaving them ninth in the table.

Chelsea have cruised to the top of the UEFA Conference League table while fielding heavily rotated squads. Their latest win came on Thursday when they traveled 3,500 miles to Kazakhstan to face Astana, a match which ended 3-1.

The next Premier League games for both teams will now take place on Sunday at 19:00 GMT, which means the schedule for December 15 now looks like this:

Why at 7pm?

Neither game could be played on Saturday as both Chelsea and Tottenham were involved in Thursday night games.

Chelsea requested a later kick-off on Sunday as it is an eight-hour flight back to London from Kazakhstan.

The Premier League then offered Spurs a later kick-off, despite their trip to Glasgow being just 540 miles away.

7pm is unusual but is a league resource when other kick-off times are unavailable or unviable.

Neither game could be moved to midweek next week as Chelsea play again in Europe against Shamrock Rovers on Thursday, while Chelsea’s opponents on Sunday, Brentford, play Newcastle in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. Tottenham face Manchester United in the League Cup on Thursday, while Southampton face Liverpool in the same competition on Wednesday.

Have Sunday’s games been played this late before?

There have been 35 Premier League games that kick off at 7pm or later on a Sunday (29 of them in 2020-21, a season with many adjustments due to the impact of Covid-19). The first was Everton v Liverpool in June 2020. The most recent was West Ham v Manchester United in May 2023.

Sunday matches usually take place at 2pm and 4.30pm as part of Sky Sports’ ‘Super Sundays’ coverage.

Will they be on TV?

Tottenham vs Southampton will be on TNT Sports, which is another reason why it ended up at 6pm. 19.00 Sunday – Sky will show the matches at 14:00 and 16:30 so the Spurs game could not clash.

Chelsea’s game against Brentford will not be televised.

The Premier League’s fixtures change during the season to accommodate domestic and European cup competitions as well as broadcasters. The expanded European competitions, which take up extra weeks in the calendar, have meant further pressure on the Premier League schedule.

What is the impact on fans?

Sunday 19:00 kick-offs are controversial.

Southampton are due to host Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s on Sunday, meaning any Spurs fans making the trip will face a late journey, but Britain’s public transport organizations are running reduced services on Sunday. It is even more of a problem when many have to work on Monday morning.

“Fans are already used to so many random kick-off times, on random days, that this is just another to add to the list,” said Ben Stansfield, founder of Southampton fan media Total Saints Podcast. Athletics. “Damn convenience is clearly irrelevant.”

The backlash against a 5.30pm kick-off for the 2023 Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal led to it being moved to 4pm.

The fact that fans may not be able to travel can also lead to reduced ticket sales and a poorer atmosphere in the stadium.

(Top photo: Stamford Bridge during Chelsea v Newcastle last season; Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA via Getty Images)